Ray Ching
, b. 1939
Ray Ching, otherwise known as Ray Harris-Ching, was born in 1939 in New Zealand, descended from English migrants from Cornwall, who, in 1840 were some of New Zealand’s first permanent coloniser settlers in Nelson. Brought up on the family farm a hundred years later, Ching became familiar with the native fauna and flora.
A school visit to the local museum, particularly a collection of taxidermied hummingbirds, inspired Ching’s interest in birds. At the age of twelve he dropped out of school to take up an apprenticeship in advertising. After working in the fields of graphic design, architecture and illustration Ching began his career as an artist by drawing taxidermied birds borrowed from the Dominion Museum in Wellington. His internationally award winning oil paintings of birds and wildlife are often based on this easily accessible resource. At his first exhibition, Thirty Birds, in Auckland in 1968 he was discovered by Sir William Collins, renowned publisher and keen ornithologist, who introduced him to British naturalist Sir Peter Scott, which launched his international career.
Ching’s works are characterised by realism, drama and excitement, qualities which, early in his career, earned him the prestigious commission in 1969 to illustrate the Reader’s Digest Book of British Birds, a publication which continues to be the best selling ornithological reference in the United Kingdom. After moving to the United Kingdom in 1968 Ching pursued a career in various artistic media, including sculpture, painting and photography. Ching exhibits regularly in New Zealand and around the world. He is considered to be one of the best wildlife painters of the twentieth century.
Many of Ching’s paintings are published in books:
- Ching, Ray. Dawn Chorus: The Legendary Voyage to New Zealand of Aesop, the Fabled Teller of Fables. Auckland: Bateman, 2014.
- King, Michael. The Penguin History of New Zealand. Auckland: Rosedale, 2003.
- Fuller, Errol and Lance, David. Voice from the Wilderness, Ray Harris-Ching. Shrewsbury: Swan Hill Press, 1994.
- Sinclair-Smith, Carol. Ray Harris-Ching, Journey of an Artistt. South Carolina: Briar Patch Press, 1990.
- Images copyright Ray Ching. Represented by Artis Gallery, Parnell, Auckland (accessed: June 4, 2018).
Bio prepared by Margaret Bromley, University of New England, mbromle5@une.edu.au
Records in database:
